path: root/Documentation/git-push.txt

git-push(1)
===========

NAME
----
git-push - Update remote refs along with associated objects


SYNOPSIS
--------
[verse]
'git push' [--all | --mirror | --tags] [--follow-tags] [--atomic] [-n | --dry-run] [--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>]
	   [--repo=<repository>] [-f | --force] [-d | --delete] [--prune] [-v | --verbose]
	   [-u | --set-upstream] [-o <string> | --push-option=<string>]
	   [--[no-]signed|--signed=(true|false|if-asked)]
	   [--force-with-lease[=<refname>[:<expect>]]]
	   [--no-verify] [<repository> [<refspec>...]]

DESCRIPTION
-----------

Updates remote refs using local refs, while sending objects
necessary to complete the given refs.

You can make interesting things happen to a repository
every time you push into it, by setting up 'hooks' there.  See
documentation for linkgit:git-receive-pack[1].

When the command line does not specify where to push with the
`<repository>` argument, `branch.*.remote` configuration for the
current branch is consulted to determine where to push.  If the
configuration is missing, it defaults to 'origin'.

When the command line does not specify what to push with `<refspec>...`
arguments or `--all`, `--mirror`, `--tags` options, the command finds
the default `<refspec>` by consulting `remote.*.push` configuration,
and if it is not found, honors `push.default` configuration to decide
what to push (See linkgit:git-config[1] for the meaning of `push.default`).

When neither the command-line nor the configuration specify what to
push, the default behavior is used, which corresponds to the `simple`
value for `push.default`: the current branch is pushed to the
corresponding upstream branch, but as a safety measure, the push is
aborted if the upstream branch does not have the same name as the
local one.


OPTIONS[[OPTIONS]]
------------------
<repository>::
	The "remote" repository that is destination of a push
	operation.  This parameter can be either a URL
	(see the section <<URLS,GIT URLS>> below) or the name
	of a remote (see the section <<REMOTES,REMOTES>> below).

<refspec>...::
	Specify what destination ref to update with what source object.
	The format of a <refspec> parameter is an optional plus
	`+`, followed by the source object <src>, followed
	by a colon `:`, followed by the destination ref <dst>.
+
The <src> is often the name of the branch you would want to push, but
it can be any arbitrary "SHA-1 expression", such as `master~4` or
`HEAD` (see linkgit:gitrevisions[7]).
+
The <dst> tells which ref on the remote side is updated with this
push. Arbitrary expressions cannot be used here, an actual ref must
be named.
If `git push [<repository>]` without any `<refspec>` argument is set to
update some ref at the destination with `<src>` with
`remote.<repository>.push` configuration variable, `:<dst>` part can
be omitted--such a push will update a ref that `<src>` normally updates
without any `<refspec>` on the command line.  Otherwise, missing
`:<dst>` means to update the same ref as the `<src>`.
+
If <dst> doesn't start with `refs/` (e.g. `refs/heads/master`) we will
try to infer where in `refs/*` on the destination <repository> it
belongs based on the type of <src> being pushed and whether <dst>
is ambiguous.
+
--
* If <dst> unambiguously refers to a ref on the <repository> remote,
  then push to that ref.

* If <src> resolves to a ref starting with refs/heads/ or refs/tags/,
  then prepend that to <dst>.

* Other ambiguity resolutions might be added in the future, but for
  now any other cases will error out with an error indicating what we
  tried, and depending on the `advice.pushUnqualifiedRefname`
  configuration (see linkgit:git-config[1]) suggest what refs/
  namespace you may have wanted to push to.

--
+
The object referenced by <src> is used to update the <dst> reference
on the remote side. Whether this is allowed depends on where in
`refs/*` the <dst> reference lives as described in detail below, in
those sections "update" means any modifications except deletes, which
as noted after the next few sections are treated differently.
+
The `refs/heads/*` namespace will only accept commit objects, and
updates only if they can be fast-forwarded.
+
The `refs/tags/*` namespace will accept any kind of object (as
commits, trees and blobs can be tagged), and any updates to them will
be rejected.
+
It's possible to push any type of object to any namespace outside of
`refs/{tags,heads}/*`. In the case of tags and commits, these will be
treated as if they were the commits inside `refs/heads/*` for the
purposes of whether the update is allowed.
+
I.e. a fast-forward of commits and tags outside `refs/{tags,heads}/*`
is allowed, even in cases where what's being fast-forwarded is not a
commit, but a tag object which happens to point to a new commit which
is a fast-forward of the commit the last tag (or commit) it's
replacing. Replacing a tag with an entirely different tag is also
allowed, if it points to the same commit, as well as pushing a peeled
tag, i.e. pushing the commit that existing tag object points to, or a
new tag object which an existing commit points to.
+
Tree and blob objects outside of `refs/{tags,heads}/*` will be treated
the same way as if they were inside `refs/tags/*`, any update of them
will be rejected.
+
All of the rules described above about what's not allowed as an update
can be overridden by adding an the optional leading `+` to a refspec
(or using `--force` command line option). The only exception to this
is that no amount of forcing will make the `refs/heads/*` namespace
accept a non-commit object. Hooks and configuration can also override
or amend these rules, see e.g. `receive.denyNonFastForwards` in
linkgit:git-config[1] and `pre-receive` and `update` in
linkgit:githooks[5].
+
Pushing an empty <src> allows you to delete the <dst> ref from the
remote repository. Deletions are always accepted without a leading `+`
in the refspec (or `--force`), except when forbidden by configuration
or hooks. See `receive.denyDeletes` in linkgit:git-config[1] and
`pre-receive` and `update` in linkgit:githooks[5].
+
The special refspec `:` (or `+:` to allow non-fast-forward updates)
directs Git to push "matching" branches: for every branch that exists on
the local side, the remote side is updated if a branch of the same name
already exists on the remote side.
+
`tag <tag>` means the same as `refs/tags/<tag>:refs/tags/<tag>`.

--all::
	Push all branches (i.e. refs under `refs/heads/`); cannot be
	used with other <refspec>.

--prune::
	Remove remote branches that don't have a local counterpart. For example
	a remote branch `tmp` will be removed if a local branch with the same
	name doesn't exist any more. This also respects refspecs, e.g.
	`git push --prune remote refs/heads/*:refs/tmp/*` would
	make sure that remote `refs/tmp/foo` will be removed if `refs/heads/foo`
	doesn't exist.

--mirror::
	Instead of naming each ref to push, specifies that all
	refs under `refs/` (which includes but is not
	limited to `refs/heads/`, `refs/remotes/`, and `refs/tags/`)
	be mirrored to the remote repository.  Newly created local
	refs will be pushed to the remote end, locally updated refs
	will be force updated on the remote end, and deleted refs
	will be removed from the remote end.  This is the default
	if the configuration option `remote.<remote>.mirror` is
	set.

-n::
--dry-run::
	Do everything except actually send the updates.

--porcelain::
	Produce machine-readable output.  The output status line for each ref
	will be tab-separated and sent to stdout instead of stderr.  The full
	symbolic names of the refs will be given.

-d::
--delete::
	All listed refs are deleted from the remote repository. This is
	the same as prefixing all refs with a colon.

--tags::
	All refs under `refs/tags` are pushed, in
	addition to refspecs explicitly listed on the command
	line.

--follow-tags::
	Push all the refs that would be pushed without this option,
	and also push annotated tags in `refs/tags` that are missing
	from the remote but are pointing at commit-ish that are
	reachable from the refs being pushed.  This can also be specified
	with configuration variable `push.followTags`.  For more
	information, see `push.followTags` in linkgit:git-config[1].

--[no-]signed::
--signed=(true|false|if-asked)::
	GPG-sign the push request to update refs on the receiving
	side, to allow it to be checked by the hooks and/or be
	logged.  If `false` or `--no-signed`, no signing will be
	attempted.  If `true` or `--signed`, the push will fail if the
	server does not support signed pushes.  If set to `if-asked`,
	sign if and only if the server supports signed pushes.  The push
	will also fail if the actual call to `gpg --sign` fails.  See
	linkgit:git-receive-pack[1] for the details on the receiving end.

--[no-]atomic::
	Use an atomic transaction on the remote side if available.
	Either all refs are updated, or on error, no refs are updated.
	If the server does not support atomic pushes the push will fail.

-o <option>::
--push-option=<option>::
	Transmit the given string to the server, which passes them to
	the pre-receive as well as the post-receive hook. The given string
	must not contain a NUL or LF character.
	When multiple `--push-option=<option>` are given, they are
	all sent to the other side in the order listed on the
	command line.
	When no `--push-option=<option>` is given from the command
	line, the values of configuration variable `push.pushOption`
	are used instead.

--receive-pack=<git-receive-pack>::
--exec=<git-receive-pack>::
	Path to the 'git-receive-pack' program on the remote
	end.  Sometimes useful when pushing to a remote
	repository over ssh, and you do not have the program in
	a directory on the default $PATH.

--[no-]force-with-lease::
--force-with-lease=<refname>::
--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>::
	Usually, "git push" refuses to update a remote ref that is
	not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
+
This option overrides this restriction if the current value of the
remote ref is the expected value.  "git push" fails otherwise.
+
Imagine that you have to rebase what you have already published.
You will have to bypass the "must fast-forward" rule in order to
replace the history you originally published with the rebased history.
If somebody else built on top of your original history while you are
rebasing, the tip of the branch at the remote may advance with her
commit, and blindly pushing with `--force` will lose her work.
+
This option allows you to say that you expect the history you are
updating is what you rebased and want to replace. If the remote ref
still points at the commit you specified, you can be sure that no
other people did anything to the ref. It is like taking a "lease" on
the ref without explicitly locking it, and the remote ref is updated
only if the "lease" is still valid.
+
`--force-with-lease` alone, without specifying the details, will protect
all remote refs that are going to be updated by requiring their
current value to be the same as the remote-tracking branch we have
for them.
+
`--force-with-lease=<refname>`, without specifying the expected value, will
protect the named ref (alone), if it is going to be updated, by
requiring its current value to be the same as the remote-tracking
branch we have for it.
+
`--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>` will protect the named ref (alone),
if it is going to be updated, by requiring its current value to be
the same as the specified value `<expect>` (which is allowed to be
different from the remote-tracking branch we have for the refname,
or we do not even have to have such a remote-tracking branch when
this form is used).  If `<expect>` is the empty string, then the named ref
must not already exist.
+
Note that all forms other than `--force-with-lease=<refname>:<expect>`
that specifies the expected current value of the ref explicitly are
still experimental and their semantics may change as we gain experience
with this feature.
+
"--no-force-with-lease" will cancel all the previous --force-with-lease on the
command line.
+
A general note on safety: supplying this option without an expected
value, i.e. as `--force-with-lease` or `--force-with-lease=<refname>`
interacts very badly with anything that implicitly runs `git fetch` on
the remote to be pushed to in the background, e.g. `git fetch origin`
on your repository in a cronjob.
+
The protection it offers over `--force` is ensuring that subsequent
changes your work wasn't based on aren't clobbered, but this is
trivially defeated if some background process is updating refs in the
background. We don't have anything except the remote tracking info to
go by as a heuristic for refs you're expected to have seen & are
willing to clobber.
+
If your editor or some other system is running `git fetch` in the
background for you a way to mitigate this is to simply set up another
remote:
+
	git remote add origin-push $(git config remote.origin.url)
	git fetch origin-push
+
Now when the background process runs `git fetch origin` the references
on `origin-push` won't be updated, and thus commands like:
+
	git push --force-with-lease origin-push
+
Will fail unless you manually run `git fetch origin-push`. This method
is of course entirely defeated by something that runs `git fetch
--all`, in that case you'd need to either disable it or do something
more tedious like:
+
	git fetch              # update 'master' from remote
	git tag base master    # mark our base point
	git rebase -i master   # rewrite some commits
	git push --force-with-lease=master:base master:master
+
I.e. create a `base` tag for versions of the upstream code that you've
seen and are willing to overwrite, then rewrite history, and finally
force push changes to `master` if the remote version is still at
`base`, regardless of what your local `remotes/origin/master` has been
updated to in the background.

-f::
--force::
	Usually, the command refuses to update a remote ref that is
	not an ancestor of the local ref used to overwrite it.
	Also, when `--force-with-lease` option is used, the command refuses
	to update a remote ref whose current value does not match
	what is expected.
+
This flag disables these checks, and can cause the remote repository
to lose commits; use it with care.
+
Note that `--force` applies to all the refs that are pushed, hence
using it with `push.default` set to `matching` or with multiple push
destinations configured with `remote.*.push` may overwrite refs
other than the current branch (including local refs that are
strictly behind their remote counterpart).  To force a push to only
one branch, use a `+` in front of the refspec to push (e.g `git push
origin +master` to force a push to the `master` branch). See the
`<refspec>...` section above for details.

--repo=<repository>::
	This option is equivalent to the <repository> argument. If both
	are specified, the command-line argument takes precedence.

-u::
--set-upstream::
	For every branch that is up to date or successfully pushed, add
	upstream (tracking) reference, used by argument-less
	linkgit:git-pull[1] and other commands. For more information,
	see `branch.<name>.merge` in linkgit:git-config[1].

--[no-]thin::
	These options are passed to linkgit:git-send-pack[1]. A thin transfer
	significantly reduces the amount of sent data when the sender and
	receiver share many of the same objects in common. The default is
	`--thin`.

-q::
--quiet::
	Suppress all output, including the listing of updated refs,
	unless an error occurs. Progress is not reported to the standard
	error stream.

-v::
--verbose::
	Run verbosely.

--progress::
	Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
	by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
	is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
	standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.

--no-recurse-submodules::
--recurse-submodules=check|on-demand|only|no::
	May be used to make sure all submodule commits used by the
	revisions to be pushed are available on a remote-tracking branch.
	If 'check' is used Git will verify that all submodule commits that
	changed in the revisions to be pushed are available on at least one
	remote of the submodule. If any commits are missing the push will
	be aborted and exit with non-zero status. If 'on-demand' is used
	all submodules that changed in the revisions to be pushed will be
	pushed. If on-demand was not able to push all necessary revisions it will
	also be aborted and exit with non-zero status. If 'only' is used all
	submodules will be recursively pushed while the superproject is left
	unpushed. A value of 'no' or using `--no-recurse-submodules` can be used
	to override the push.recurseSubmodules configuration variable when no
	submodule recursion is required.

--[no-]verify::
	Toggle the pre-push hook (see linkgit:githooks[5]).  The
	default is --verify, giving the hook a chance to prevent the
	push.  With --no-verify, the hook is bypassed completely.

-4::
--ipv4::
	Use IPv4 addresses only, ignoring IPv6 addresses.

-6::
--ipv6::
	Use IPv6 addresses only, ignoring IPv4 addresses.

include::urls-remotes.txt[]

OUTPUT
------

The output of "git push" depends on the transport method used; this
section describes the output when pushing over the Git protocol (either
locally or via ssh).

The status of the push is output in tabular form, with each line
representing the status of a single ref. Each line is of the form:

-------------------------------
 <flag> <summary> <from> -> <to> (<reason>)
-------------------------------

If --porcelain is used, then each line of the output is of the form:

-------------------------------
 <flag> \t <from>:<to> \t <summary> (<reason>)
-------------------------------

The status of up-to-date refs is shown only if --porcelain or --verbose
option is used.

flag::
	A single character indicating the status of the ref:
(space);; for a successfully pushed fast-forward;
`+`;; for a successful forced update;
`-`;; for a successfully deleted ref;
`*`;; for a successfully pushed new ref;
`!`;; for a ref that was rejected or failed to push; and
`=`;; for a ref that was up to date and did not need pushing.

summary::
	For a successfully pushed ref, the summary shows the old and new
	values of the ref in a form suitable for using as an argument to
	`git log` (this is `<old>..<new>` in most cases, and
	`<old>...<new>` for forced non-fast-forward updates).
+
For a failed update, more details are given:
+
--
rejected::
	Git did not try to send the ref at all, typically because it
	is not a fast-forward and you did not force the update.

remote rejected::
	The remote end refused the update.  Usually caused by a hook
	on the remote side, or because the remote repository has one
	of the following safety options in effect:
	`receive.denyCurrentBranch` (for pushes to the checked out
	branch), `receive.denyNonFastForwards` (for forced
	non-fast-forward updates), `receive.denyDeletes` or
	`receive.denyDeleteCurrent`.  See linkgit:git-config[1].

remote failure::
	The remote end did not report the successful update of the ref,
	perhaps because of a temporary error on the remote side, a
	break in the network connection, or other transient error.
--

from::
	The name of the local ref being pushed, minus its
	`refs/<type>/` prefix. In the case of deletion, the
	name of the local ref is omitted.

to::
	The name of the remote ref being updated, minus its
	`refs/<type>/` prefix.

reason::
	A human-readable explanation. In the case of successfully pushed
	refs, no explanation is needed. For a failed ref, the reason for
	failure is described.

NOTE ABOUT FAST-FORWARDS
------------------------

When an update changes a branch (or more in general, a ref) that used to
point at commit A to point at another commit B, it is called a
fast-forward update if and only if B is a descendant of A.

In a fast-forward update from A to B, the set of commits that the original
commit A built on top of is a subset of the commits the new commit B
builds on top of.  Hence, it does not lose any history.

In contrast, a non-fast-forward update will lose history.  For example,
suppose you and somebody else started at the same commit X, and you built
a history leading to commit B while the other person built a history
leading to commit A.  The history looks like this:

----------------

      B
     /
 ---X---A

----------------

Further suppose that the other person already pushed changes leading to A
back to the original repository from which you two obtained the original
commit X.

The push done by the other person updated the branch that used to point at
commit X to point at commit A.  It is a fast-forward.

But if you try to push, you will attempt to update the branch (that
now points at A) with commit B.  This does _not_ fast-forward.  If you did
so, the changes introduced by commit A will be lost, because everybody
will now start building on top of B.

The command by default does not allow an update that is not a fast-forward
to prevent such loss of history.

If you do not want to lose your work (history from X to B) or the work by
the other person (history from X to A), you would need to first fetch the
history from the repository, create a history that contains changes done
by both parties, and push the result back.

You can perform "git pull", resolve potential conflicts, and "git push"
the result.  A "git pull" will create a merge commit C between commits A
and B.

----------------

      B---C
     /   /
 ---X---A

----------------

Updating A with the resulting merge commit will fast-forward and your
push will be accepted.

Alternatively, you can rebase your change between X and B on top of A,
with "git pull --rebase", and push the result back.  The rebase will
create a new commit D that builds the change between X and B on top of
A.

----------------

      B   D
     /   /
 ---X---A

----------------

Again, updating A with this commit will fast-forward and your push will be
accepted.

There is another common situation where you may encounter non-fast-forward
rejection when you try to push, and it is possible even when you are
pushing into a repository nobody else pushes into. After you push commit
A yourself (in the first picture in this section), replace it with "git
commit --amend" to produce commit B, and you try to push it out, because
forgot that you have pushed A out already. In such a case, and only if
you are certain that nobody in the meantime fetched your earlier commit A
(and started building on top of it), you can run "git push --force" to
overwrite it. In other words, "git push --force" is a method reserved for
a case where you do mean to lose history.


EXAMPLES
--------

`git push`::
	Works like `git push <remote>`, where <remote> is the
	current branch's remote (or `origin`, if no remote is
	configured for the current branch).

`git push origin`::
	Without additional configuration, pushes the current branch to
	the configured upstream (`remote.origin.merge` configuration
	variable) if it has the same name as the current branch, and
	errors out without pushing otherwise.
+
The default behavior of this command when no <refspec> is given can be
configured by setting the `push` option of the remote, or the `push.default`
configuration variable.
+
For example, to default to pushing only the current branch to `origin`
use `git config remote.origin.push HEAD`.  Any valid <refspec> (like
the ones in the examples below) can be configured as the default for
`git push origin`.

`git push origin :`::
	Push "matching" branches to `origin`. See
	<refspec> in the <<OPTIONS,OPTIONS>> section above for a
	description of "matching" branches.

`git push origin master`::
	Find a ref that matches `master` in the source repository
	(most likely, it would find `refs/heads/master`), and update
	the same ref (e.g. `refs/heads/master`) in `origin` repository
	with it.  If `master` did not exist remotely, it would be
	created.

`git push origin HEAD`::
	A handy way to push the current branch to the same name on the
	remote.

`git push mothership master:satellite/master dev:satellite/dev`::
	Use the source ref that matches `master` (e.g. `refs/heads/master`)
	to update the ref that matches `satellite/master` (most probably
	`refs/remotes/satellite/master`) in the `mothership` repository;
	do the same for `dev` and `satellite/dev`.
+
See the section describing `<refspec>...` above for a discussion of
the matching semantics.
+
This is to emulate `git fetch` run on the `mothership` using `git
push` that is run in the opposite direction in order to integrate
the work done on `satellite`, and is often necessary when you can
only make connection in one way (i.e. satellite can ssh into
mothership but mothership cannot initiate connection to satellite
because the latter is behind a firewall or does not run sshd).
+
After running this `git push` on the `satellite` machine, you would
ssh into the `mothership` and run `git merge` there to complete the
emulation of `git pull` that were run on `mothership` to pull changes
made on `satellite`.

`git push origin HEAD:master`::
	Push the current branch to the remote ref matching `master` in the
	`origin` repository. This form is convenient to push the current
	branch without thinking about its local name.

`git push origin master:refs/heads/experimental`::
	Create the branch `experimental` in the `origin` repository
	by copying the current `master` branch.  This form is only
	needed to create a new branch or tag in the remote repository when
	the local name and the remote name are different; otherwise,
	the ref name on its own will work.

`git push origin :experimental`::
	Find a ref that matches `experimental` in the `origin` repository
	(e.g. `refs/heads/experimental`), and delete it.

`git push origin +dev:master`::
	Update the origin repository's master branch with the dev branch,
	allowing non-fast-forward updates.  *This can leave unreferenced
	commits dangling in the origin repository.*  Consider the
	following situation, where a fast-forward is not possible:
+
----
	    o---o---o---A---B  origin/master
		     \
		      X---Y---Z  dev
----
+
The above command would change the origin repository to
+
----
		      A---B  (unnamed branch)
		     /
	    o---o---o---X---Y---Z  master
----
+
Commits A and B would no longer belong to a branch with a symbolic name,
and so would be unreachable.  As such, these commits would be removed by
a `git gc` command on the origin repository.

include::transfer-data-leaks.txt[]

GIT
---
Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite